spazzyjanet

NYE parties.

Our balconies, with dividers removed.

Accidentally posted this to the wrong place, deleted :o

Our cabins-

We had adjacent cabins 7600, 7602, and 7604- on the hump. 7602 and 7604 were adjoining, and we put our kids in 7602 between grandpa and us. When we arrived, we told our stateroom attendant to remove the dividers and it was done by 4pm. I had requested a mattress topper in advance through special needs and it was already on.

Our stateroom attendant- Esperanza- was very visible the entire cruise and took care of everything. We were impressed, especially since kids were more of a mess. She kept champaigne iced, took care of laundry, etc.

We lucked out and all of our mattresses were comfortable. If they hadn't have been, this could have made or broken our cruise.

We never could get the room temp below 70. We brought a small fan and used it all week. We really noticed on the last night not having it (packed away in our luggage). I sorely miss the days when the AC was free-flowing and we could leave the balcony door open and listen to the waves. Now we are warm-ish even if we leave it closed and sweltering if we leave it open.

Fort Lauderdale- Everglades Excursion.

This was a gamble for us, since the reviews on Royal's website were not all that great. However, we enjoyed it very much- especially considering the fact that it was actually the least expensive tour we went on and included transportation to FLL.

We met in studio B and then got on some nicely air-conditioned tour busses. We drove over to the Navigator of the Seas to pick up passengers there which took some time.

We had great fun. We saw several alligators on the air boat ride- many too close for comfort- and our kids were transfixed. It was a cool, surreal experience being out the boat. Afterwards, we walked around the animal exhibit and my kids had an absolute blast seeing the snakes, alligators limurs, big cats (who came there from abused homes), etc. Afterward, we were dropped back off at the airport. I'm not sure where the negative reviews were coming from.

In Cozumel we swam with dolphins, and booked it through the ship. I can best summarize this as an hour of being treated like cattle, followed by a 1-hour AMAZING experience, followed by an hour of heavy negotiation with photo staff and trying to get back home.

The actual dolphin experience was unforgettable- especially seeing the looks on my kids faces. Pure joy. The staff has this down to a science. I would do this again in a heartbeat despite the hassle getting there.

Afterward, they will show you pictures and tell you that it is $40 a picture and $390 for the package. We didn't have enough cash, but lied about how much we did have. We ended up walking away with the entire CD (180 pics) for about $200. These people who sell the pictures are full of crap. Don't believe them. At one point, they were telling us that there was "an extra tax for paying with cash." Then I heard another customer telling his wife, "they said I would only get the 5% discount if I pay with cash."

We can easily see how Blue Hole, with no crowds and lots of time could be an amazing experience. Our kids had fun because they didn't understand what was going on. We did not. With the crowds and rushing it is flat out dangerous. I will say that if it wasn't for the amazing guides, we would have had one or more severe medical emergency.

Afterward, we went river tubing to try to salvage the day. My Dad was shell-shocked and decided not to go. We did. The river tubing was short, but it was SO MUCH FUN. The guides sang to us, and the small rapids were cool. It gave us all a chance to smile and relax.

Maybe it was the number of ships in port that day, the road conditions near blue hole, whatever. We got stuck in horrible traffic. My son got car sick. We were nervous about having time to eat at Scotchies before getting back.

Here is where our tour guide really shined. He was a great driver. He stopped to get water for our son. He went into Scotchies and despite the long lines, was able to by-pass them due to connections and bring us back food for the road. The food at Scotchies was so delicious! We hadn't eaten all day. We were hungry and it hit the spot.

Many of the ships tours got stuck in traffic as well. Thanks to our wonderful guide, we were chilling on our balconies watching a tour bus arrive nearly an hour after the scheduled departure time.

Ports of Call.

Labadee. We were in an OTW cabana. We paid $350 for ours and thought it was worth it. We had a party of 6- 3 adults, 3 kids. A $50 tip up front to the attendant on top of that ensured excellent service all day long, including a shuttle drive to and from the buffet. We tipped another $50 upon leaving, since we had such a good time.

We booked early and many paid more for the OTW than us, as we noticed the price rise to $450, then only available on board. Only ship in port was Allure, and all of the Nellies cabanas were filled.\

Falmouth. Where to begin? This was quite a day. We had both positive and negative experiences on this trip. The positives were thanks to our tour company- Courtney Taylor Tours. The negatives were due to the destinations we chose to visit (namely, Blue Hole), crowds, crowds, crowds, and traffic.

The tour company itself- Courtney Taylor, and especially our guide "party animal" was amazing, and honestly the only reason why we made it though the day unscathed.

Blue Hole was a disaster. My husband and Dad both almost drowned. TOO MANY PEOPLE. So many that they rushed you and pushed you into doing things before you could even think, pause, or get adjusted to it. This is NOT a relaxing place to swim and enjoy like it is painted to be in many of the reviews. We were rushed up and pushed to jump in before really even knowing what we were doing. My Dad had knee surgery and didn't realize that he could no longer swim due to the fact that his replacement knees meant he could no longer float. What's more- since he had to take his glassed off to get in he couldn't SEE! He jumped in and started sinking, panicked and had to be rescued by staff. After that, since there was no easy way out, he was given a life jacket and I had to help guide him out. On the way out, his leg hit a rock and swelled up afterward. He was limping for days afterward.

This was just after the girls and I jumped in under the waterfall. We didn't have time to explain to them what was going on, so when they came up and realized they were under a waterfall and could not touch the ground THEY PANICKED. Each girl grabbed on to one of my husband's arms and he couldn't swim to hold them up. He started sinking and staff had to come and take the girls off of him so that my husband wouldn't drown. Needless to say, I nearly had a heart attack. Twice.

Speaking of breakfast. We ate in the Windjammer 2 or 3 times for breakfast. Sorry, it's terrible. Just terrible. I don't know how you make so many basic easy foods so badly, but they managed it. When we went, it was only for convenience/speed.

The Wipeout Cafe was great for lunch, but their breakfast was only a small step up from the Windjammer. I ordered an omelette, thinking- "well, it's fresh" and couldn't finish it. I'm not sure what the issue is with eggs on this ship, but they are just... not good? Johnny Rockets was better, but still not what I'd qualify as great.

We didn't make it to Park Cafe until lunch the last day. The largest crowds we saw all week were at the Park Cafe at 1:30 pm on the last sea day. It was very frustrating. I ordered the roast beef sandwich with chips. I'd have loved to try a soup or salad but didn't want to deal with the lines. We barely found a place to sit. My guess is that everyone goes here because word has gotten out that this is the only free food venue that has good food. I did enjoy my roast beef sandwich.

My theory is that RCI is deliberately making their free food awful so that people will be forced to pay extra.

MDR- We only ate here for dinner 3 nights, but the wait staff here was great getting our kids through meals and dessert in time for My Family Time dining pick up. I found all of the food I ate here to be good. Since I came in with low expectations, this was a positive.

We loved "my family time dining." It was a godsend to our sanity. How nice to get the kids fed and then ushered away before they got bored.

We went to Giovanni's Table, Chops, Sabor, Johnny Rockets, MDR, Wipeout Cafe, Windjammer, and Park Cafe.

Giovanni's was the first night and we would definitely go again. We booked ahead and paid the full adult price for the 3 kids. The waiter was very charismatic and played everything up. Even though they ordered off the kids menu, the waiter decided to bring them extra stuff not on the kids menu and extra stuff for us. At the end of the night, we got no credit back, but didn't ask because of the treatment and honestly, I think that is the strategy they go for. The food was excellent.

Since I could see the squirrely-ness of the kids in a 2-hour dinner in a dimly lit room, we headed to Chops and asked them if they could reduce our NYE reservations for 6 down to 3 (just the adults). This was easily done and we were credited back.

We found the food in Chops to be wonderful. I asked the waiter whether it was worth it to pay the upcharge for the lobster. He didn't say it directly, but indicated that since they were doing lobster in the MDR that night, that he would let me try the MDR lobster with a filet to do "surf-and-turf." for no extra charge. I suspect that the upcharge lobster IS the same as that in the MDR always. Wow. Service at Chops was satisfactory. Not exceptional.

Sabor was our favorite restaurant. The tableside guac was great and the service was very friendly. The margarita's are very strong. I had two :) We actually went back a second time for lunch.

The staff on this ship works very hard. We went to Johnny Rockets for lunch and the waiter took very good care of our kids, which we thanked with a tip. He remembered us when we went back for breakfast, and even went over to the donut place to get our kids donuts PLUS items off of the menu. We saw the same staff out there from open to close and we respect how hard it must be to provide that many hours of friendly service day in and day out every day.

Whew! What a fun, but exhausting week. Missing my connection due to a delayed flight and going from first class to standby on later flights out of CLT didn't help with the "exhausting" part.

We traveled as a party of 6, my husband and I, 3 kids (5, 8, 10) and my Dad. We flew out 3 days early and spent 3 days at the Hilton FLL Beach Resort. This hotel has views of the beach and intercoastal waterway, or both depending on what suite you get. I would recommend staying here, but if you are a the type of customer who would spend on the upper range for a hotel room ($800 or more a night), I would NOT stay again. The Ritz is your better bet on the beach. We are not usually high end customers. This was a once-in-a-lifetime splurge. The concierge made us Christmas Eve reservations at Coconuts and we walked a mile to find the restaurant CLOSED. The master in the 3- bedroom suite did not have a door. Drinking glasses not provided. Recommend staying here if your range is $200- $450. The staff and restaurants are wonderful. The pool area and pool staff were amazing.

The best part of this cruise was the entertainment. We enjoyed every show and couldn't have been more satisfied or pleased with this aspect. Even the adult comedy show was fantastic. We did not see the headliner (American Idol finalist- Marcus Terrel?), but tried to see most everything else.

For a holiday cruise, we expected the ship to be "overrun with screaming kids." This was not the case at all. There were kids, but they were not a problem. They certainly weren't overrunning the ship. I asked the AO staff, and I think they said that there were 1400 kids total onboard.

Mostly extended families were on board, and yes- whether I'm supposed to bring it up or not- many were wealthy. Many teenage girls flaunting newly purchased Kate Spade bags, many ladies wearing designer formals on formal night. Designer suits on men. Out of 6 cruises, I saw less senior citizens on this one than any other I've been on.

We did Adventure Ocean. My 10-year-old is more introverted, and after going the first couple of sessions, she didn't want to go back. She just wanted to do her thing, go to the arcade, find places to read and people watch. The 8-year old is my social butterfly, and went to all of the evening sessions and made lots of friends. My 5-year-olf started out the week in the 6-8 range based on the suggestion of the 3-5 year staff. There was a boy in that group who kind of picked on him. About 3 nights my son (who is very into rules) got frustrated trying to understand the rules of a game. Part of it was difficulty understanding the staff member's accent, and another part was lack of sleep, but my son just broke down and started crying and went to sit in a corner. After that, they suggested that he move down to the 3-5 group. We were concerned he wouldn't like that, but once he was there he actually loved the 3-5 group more. There were many other 5-year-olds on the holiday sailing and he made friends quickly. In retrospect we should have started him there.

Sorry to hear that. We had nothing but smooth sails and beautiful weather ALL WEEK last week on Allure. We lucked out.

On Allure this week they let my almost-6-year-old into the 6-8 year age group, even though he is 3 months shy. We actually didn't even have to ask. The staff member in the 3-5 room took one look at him, asked his age, then suggested that he move up because the 3-5 age activities would probably bore him.

The 6-8 room staff member had no issues with him joining but told him that if he doesn't act mature and listen that he would have to move back down. So far so good.

We were in an OTW cabana 2 days ago. We paid $350 for ours and thought it was worth it. We had a party of 6- 3 adults, 3 kids. A $50 tip up front to the attendant on top of that ensured excellent service all day long, including a shuttle drive to and from the buffet. We tipped another $50 upon leaving, since we had such a good time.

We booked early and many paid more for the OTW than us, as we noticed the price rise to $450, then only available on board. Only ship in port was Allure, and all of the Nellies cabanas were filled.

Thanks for the suggestions on keeping the room cool. Didn't check to see whether the Master Switch was on.

The Barbie stateroom package can be purchased through gifts and gear. I did notice that the kids club was selling the package for a sale price of $28 on board, but since embarkation day was her birthday it was nice to have it already set up when we got there. She was thrilled. Basically, it's a pillow case, blankets, a barbie, Barbie clothes, lanyard and bag, etc and they put a sign outside the door.

By upperclass, I am designating that there are a lot of people wearing more expensive clothing, etc. I am attaching no further connotations.

Wipeout cafe had pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. It was the type of easy, kid friendly food we were looking for. Self serve from a buffet.

Wipeout cafe for lunch the first day was a great idea. No crowds at all upon boarding and kid friendly foods.

Deck 14 forward was great for sailaway.

Giovanni's was excellent- great food and service-, but the kids got a little antsy sitting through a 2 hour meal after a day of excitement.

The Barbie stateroom package to celebrate my daughter's 8th birthday was a HUGE hit. We'll worth $46.

The aqua theater show was AMAZING. Pleased everyone in our party from age 6 to 66.

The clientele on this cruise is by far the most "upperclass" I've ever seen,which is unsurprising given the premium rates. Lots of big family groups wearing matching t-shirts.

And.... the beds are perfectly comfortable in each of our 3 adjacent balcony cabins. While some cabins may have the newer Flintstone ones, we appear to have lucked out.

Room temp is a little warmer than I am used to, but not too bad. Brought a fan to help with circulation.

Price is ler group, not per person. 1 person books.

Bill, since this isn't facebook, I can't "like" your post, but hopefully the thumbs up will do :)

Thanks for letting me know about the fan. The feedback on temperatures has been far less consistent, but I'm "better safe than sorry" when it comes to sleep.

I draw the line at bringing my own mattress topper, though- mainly because our family of 5 has already packed WAY too much for our 10-day vacation (3 days FL+ 7 days cruise) as it is. Just the two of us and no Airplane I might have been tempted :eek:

What do we need to bring to charge cell phones, etc. Sorry, I'm terrible at the lingo, but is there something that we can put the charger straight into, or do we need to bring a plug that has one? Yeah, sorry, I know I'm not using the right terms..

Another question- do all persons in the cabana need to be present to get wrist bands? We are on the zip line at 9am, so we were going to let my Dad get wristbands and head out to the cabana while we drop the kids off at the kids club and head to our excursion. Can he simply request 6 and then we can meet up with him to get them later?

I don't think we'll have enough time to go to the cabanas first, then drop the kids off at kids club, then head to the zip line for a 9am excursion...

"Off we went to guest services - after hearing our story - they gifted us - all 6 of us with a meal at Giovanni's for tonight and said to come back in the Morning to give them a chance to contact the head waiter and work out the issues."

Nice!

Which cabana numbers are the most popular? More importantly, are there any to avoid?

At Target now. I found a single "vornado" personal fan, but it requires an outlet (not battery operated). Will Royal allow this?

I would never be concerned by one individual's opinion on a review site. I do get concerned with consistent opinions by multiple people across several different threads, which you should be well aware of. Do I hope that I will have the better experience of the apparent minority, of course I do.

Good idea about requesting a fan. Can anyone confirm that this could be requested from a steward?

Does Liberty have one of those circular "wave" pools that kids run around in? Those scare the crap out of me.